Kellogg Scores With Walmart-Exclusive Pringles Promotion

Battle Creek, Mich. — Kellogg Co. teamed its Pringles brand with basketball trick-shot group and YouTube star Dude Perfect last spring to capitalize on the popularity of March Madness. While not an official NCAA sponsor, Pringles launched its “Flavor Slam” promotion in mid-February to coincide with the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament.With the goal of driving shoppers to Walmart, Pringles’ primary tactic was tapping into the power of Dude Perfect’s online fan base – the group’s YouTube channel has close to 3 million subscribers. Kellogg’s Walmart team worked closely with The Integer Group, Lakewood, Colorado, to develop the partnership with the five guys known for their entertaining videos.The collaboration culminated in a six-minute video of trick shots involving pingpong balls and empty Pringles cans as baskets. “The canister packaging is an asset unique to Pringles that provided the perfect tie to trick shots and our Dude Perfect partnership,” says Kevin Hoppe, senior shopper marketing manager, Kellogg Walmart team.Shots such as “Hair Dryer Floater,” “No-Looker Pringles Pyramid” and “Pringles Putt” are highlighted throughout the video. Mr. P, the brand mascot, also makes an appearance. The Dude Perfect guys are shown leaving a Walmart with a cart filled with cans of Pringles as well as the free Flavor Slam backboards that were distributed in-store. At the end of the video, viewers are encouraged to head to Walmart to pick up Pringles and the mini backboard and to upload their own videos using the #FlavorSlam hashtag.“The video went viral with over 1 million views in the first 36 hours and sat on the worldwide ‘Most Popular’ page on YouTube for three days straight,” says Hoppe. “This was a product not only of the video, but the coordinated social conversations between Dude Perfect, Pringles and Walmart on Facebook and Twitter. This encouraged the dialogue and challenged fans to do the same. YouTube recognized our efforts and tweeted out the video to their 64 million fan base.”The video was also highlighted on the front page of the Mashable social media blog, and it was shortlisted at Cannes in the Branded Content, Gaming category. Hoppe says that more than 500 fan videos were uploaded to YouTube and Instagram, and those using the campaign’s hashtag were aggregated to a promotional website (PringlesFlavorSlam.com). Pringles surprised some of the fans that uploaded videos by sending them pallets of the crisps.QR codes on POS, packaging and the free backboards drove shoppers to the site. Mobile ads and social posts also promoted the URL as well as two limited-time flavors, bacon and sriracha, available exclusively at Walmart. Hipcricket, New York, created a mobile site.Although the brand’s target skews male, typically ages 25 to 45, Hoppe explains it’s more of a mindset than age or gender. “They are social in nature, looking to be the life of the party or show their friends a cool trick or thing they learned to do,” he says. “Dude Perfect’s demos are very similar. Looking at the fan videos, we hit that target right on. You see a younger crowd also getting involved with a number of kids aspiring to be the next Dude Perfect submitting videos as well.”“You don’t just eat ’em, you flavor slam ’em” messaging was prominent on all in-store and digital components and ties into the brand’s worldwide marketing slogan, “You Don’t Just Eat ’Em,” which debuted in early 2014. Flavor Slam “is a great example of the convergence of digital, mobile, social and in-store that drove consumer engagement and positive sales results,” says Todd Hossfeld, vice president at The Integer Group. “All while staying true to the broader brand campaign.”With the larger campaign, fans are encouraged to share what they do with their Pringles, via social channels and the hashtag #YouDontJustEatEm, such as: you duck lip ’em, you on-the-go ’em, you lunch ’em. Flavor Slam, Hoppe says, “aligned perfectly with the direction we were going. It celebrates Pringles as a brand and their fan base as much as the food itself.”He adds that Flavor Slam’s success was primarily defined around incremental sales and brand equity. “Both [in terms of] displays on the floor and the social engagement from uploads and program buzz.” Returns were strong in both, Hoppe says. Between Feb. 15 and March 31, Pringles sales were up 22.2% versus 2013 at Walmart.

Kellogg Scores With Walmart-Exclusive Pringles Promotion

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